Short Exposures: January 10

Lexar increases CF speed, capacityLexar made several announcements at the International CES event in Las Vegas, including upgrades to its Compact Flash range.

The new Lexar Professional 1066x 256GB CF card offers a read transfer speed up to 160MB per second and write speeds up to 155MB per second. The Professional 800x CF card is now available with a capacity of 256GB, as well as the industry’s first 512GB memory card, both with read transfer speeds up to 120MB per second and write speeds up to 75MB per second.

The cards accelerate workflow and provide high-speed, reliable performance to capture and transfer high-quality photos and 1080p Full HD, 3D, and 4K video, according to Lexar.

The 256GB Lexar Professional 1066x CF card supports the Video Performance Guarantee (VPG-65) specification for professional video capture streams at a minimum guaranteed write speed of 65MB per second, while the Lexar Professional 800x CF cards support the VPG-20 specification with a minimum guaranteed write speed of 20MB per second.

In addition, Lexar announced increased capacities for its line of JumpDrive USB 3.0 flash drives, adding a 128GB option to the Lexar JumpDrive P10, JumpDrive S33, and JumpDrive S23, along with a 256GB option to the JumpDrive S73 USB 3.0 flash drive.

Lexar also flagged future availability of Lexar Professional 3333x CFast 2.0 cards and the Lexar Professional Workflow CFast 2.0 USB 3.0 reader. The CFast 2.0 specification is the next generation of high performance memory cards designed for professional applications in still imaging and video capture.

Australians spend $5 billion with overseas retailers
Australians are expected to have spent close to $15 billion shopping online during 2013, predominantly with local retailers (despite the best efforts of consumer advocate Choice!).

Total online retail spending for the 12 months to November was $14.6 billion, according to National Australia Bank’s online retail sales index. This was up 10 percent compared to a year earlier.

Of that, more than 70 per cent was spent within Australia. Looked at from another persepective, almost $5 billion dollars was lost to the local economy in offshore sales.

NAB’s economic soothsayer Alan Oster said online sales were likely to grow more quickly over the next few years as the local internet shopping industry matures.

‘In the last few years, it has grown at around 20 per cent. That’s slowed a lot in the past 12 months, but I think its starting to go back up again,’ he said.

Online sales accounted for around 6.4 per cent of total retail spending in Australia, which was still well below that seen in other developed countries.

‘If you look at the US and the UK, where online is a little bit more mature, they are about nine to 10 per cent. So, I would have thought it’s not yet at full maturation here.’

Canon 1D X firmware upgrade now availableCanon Australia has today made available the Canon EOS-1D X firmware upgrade Version 2.0.3 announced way back in October last year.

The firmware upgrade, which includes improved performance and functionality to enable users to respond even more quickly to fast-moving subjects and improved performance in low-light conditions, is available for download via the Canon Australia website.

A group of former Lexar executives headed by ex-Lexar VP Wes Brewer have emerged with a new ‘son of Lexar’ premium memory card brand, ProGrade Digital. There are no plans at present to launch in Australia. The Lexar name and … Continue reading →